Crossed Dreams

The Challenge

Melissa laid sprawled in the backseat, scrolling through her phone for information on the cave that they were visiting first. It was something to do, to keep her mind from thinking about the handsome stranger and how he had not shown up in her dreams the night before.

Scrolling through the different pages related to the cave’s geologic information, she found that it was rich in crinoid fossils. Now, if only there was a river or a field that the cave drained into so that she would be able to keep anything that she found.

She leaned forward to show Connor the information on the page that she was currently on. He nodded and indicated his phone, showing her that they were on the same page. That was the reason why she and him had become friends; their shared love of fossils. Well, that and the awkward date.

The year before she had decided to join Tinder and that led to her first and last date with Connor. It was the most awkward and weirdest date that she had ever been on. Okay, it was the only one she’d been on. It was a good thing too. Because of it, she now had two good friends that she knew would be with her for life.

“Oh, that’s right. Em, what did you mean ‘bout not trying the shampoo?” Melissa personally hadn’t tried the hair essentials yet but she read the ingredients. They were organic and had all natural-ingredients in them, with no over use of questionable chemicals. The hotel had sprung for some really high-end bath essentials.

Emily's cheeks flushed red. "I meant that you shouldn't try to eat it. It tastes bad. Very, very, bad." She physically shuddered, remembering the bitter, oily taste.

Nate slammed on the breaks. "You ate it! You actually tried the hair products!" He shook his blonde curly head. Shocked filled disbelieving eyes glanced into the rearview mirror.

“What! I didn’t know that it would taste bad."

“That’s not what I meant. Who in their right mind would try something so reckless and disgusting? And here I thought you were the smart one.”

“That’s how she learns.” Melissa defended.

Just then the van's radio crackled to life. "Is everything good back there?" Dr. Martin's broken voice floated through the static.

A'bene, who had been quietly chuckling during the conversation leaned over and flipped on the switch to the radio. "Fine, fine. Everything is fine." He answered.

"Everything except for Emily." Nate told the professor.

"What did she do now? Wait, she is actually in there with you right?" The silent laughter and concern in his voice was audible through the static.

The van started moving again. The trees passed by, their separate colors blurring into one as the van picked up its speed. "You were right the first time Dr. Martin." Nate scratched at his beard, probably trying to find the right way to explain things. "Well...it seems that she thought it was a good idea to try the shampoo. And I mean try as in food and not as in what it was meant to be used for."

Broken laughter floated through the radio's speaker. "That somehow doesn't surprise me." After a few moments, his laughter ceased and he continued speaking. "Emily, you never cease to amaze me. Your curiosity is that of a child. Anything new and strange to you has to be tested by sticking it into your mouth."

Emily's face turned a bright shade of red. "I'm not that bad."

"You are that bad, but at least you have some limits." Melissa thought back to their time in mineralogy when they had to do mineral identifications. Some minerals could be difficult to tell apart just by looking at them, such minerals were Halite and Flourite. The quickest way to tell them apart in her opinion was to lick them since Halite was salt and therefore had a salty flavor. That was something that Emily was never opened to trying.

Dr. Martin's broken, static-filled voice cut through her thoughts. "Emily, please don't try anything when we get to the cave. Nate." A sigh escaped from the professor's lips, coming through loud and clear. "Good luck."

The morning sun rose higher in the sky. Its light broke through the darkness, lighting up the world around them. The hues of the new dawn weaved in and out of the trees, painting the perfect scene for the start of a brand new day. When they pulled up to the site, Melissa's prayer had been answered. Running through the field and up the hillside where the cave was located was a dried-up creek bed. The van pulled to a stop and the siblings jumped out. Melissa followed not far behind them. All three were eager to add to their growing collection of fossils.

Dr. Martin cleared his throat. "If you lose those in the cave, you can't bring them back out if you find them. Anything dropped or left behind in a cave has to remain there for the rest of the cave's existence or until the rain washes it out. Best leave the fossil hunting for when we're getting ready for departure."

Melissa sighed knowing that he was right. Together, she and Emily dragged a reluctant Connor back to the group.

The eight students followed the professor up the hillside. Halfway up, located in a dip behind some trees was the entrance to the cave.

Dr. Martin turned to face the group. "You had to see this coming. We can't just have fun exploring caves in Tennessee. We have to actually learn something." He rubbed his small, chubby hands together. A wicked gleam in his dark brown eyes appeared before the smile did. "Let the teaching begin."

He indicated the structure behind him with a wave of his hand. "Can anyone tell me what we are looking at?" The entrance to the cave was made up of two giant slabs of limestone dipping in a downward direction. Melissa looked up, easily finding the crest. If Melissa remembered correctly, the structure was an anticline of Chattanooga origin.

"It's a cave." Pete said, raising snickers from half of the class. Pete was a graduate student and one who was looking forward to a day of no classes or lectures.

Melissa was one who preferred to let others answer but she was eager to get inside and explore. "It's an anticlinal structure of Chattanooga origin. Possibly shale."

"Very good. I'm glad to see that some of you read the pamphlets that I handed out yesterday." The lesson went on for another ten minutes. "No flashlights for this first part. Inside, you'll find an entrance to the room that we have dubbed the dome room. I want everyone to search for it."

"How about we form teams. Two teams of four. I'll be the leader of one group." Pete placed the hard hat onto his head before continuing. "Who wants to be the leader of the other group?" He looked expectantly at Nate.

Emily stepped forward. "I will."

Melissa walked up to her foolish, brazen friend. "You've never been in a cave before." She whispered. She hated to go against her friends, especially Emily but she thought that it would be better to not have a newbie lead a group. Connor or Nate would probably be a better fit to lead. She had never been caving with Nate before but the guy was usually calm and level headed during class and the way that he carried his equipment told her that he had obviously done this before. Connor would also make an excellent leader, as long as they were caving or hiking. When they were doing those two things, he always took charge and remained calm and focus, unlike his usual daily self.

Emily looked at Melissa, her eyes shining with uncertainty for a split second. "You didn't let me finish." She turned back toward Pete with the biggest, fakest smile that Melissa had ever seen her wear. "I was going to say that I will...nominate Melissa as leader."

“'Kay." Nate walked over to where they stood. "Guess that means Melissa, me, Connor, and Emily versus your team Pete."

Dr. Martin bent over, hands clasped on his knees as he laughed. A long, loud, belly shaking laugh. Standing up, he wiped away the tears that had formed. "This shall be interesting. You know, in all my years of holding this trip, your class is the first one to make this into a competition." He brought his hands together with a loud clap. "Alright, which group is going first?"

Melissa would have preferred to go in first but the way that Dr. Martin talked about the tunnel leading to the dome room gave her suspicions. Maybe it would be better to go in last.

“Maybe we should go last.” Nate whispered. “Something about this seems suspicious.”

“I agree.” Melissa turned her attention back onto Pete, who was wildly searching for something in his bag. “Pete, your group can go first.”

Pete’s milky brown eyes widened. A light pink flush spread onto his face, barely visible against his dark, tanned skin. “Are you sure? We could always flip a coin.”

She looked at the members of her group to see if they wanted to testify to her and Nate’s reasoning. No one made a move. “We’re sure.” She said to Pete.

Melissa entered into the cave after giving Pete's team a two-minute head start. Carefully but quickly she jumped from boulder to boulder down the gently sloping incline. On the last boulder, she jumped, landing on the smooth surface of the cave's floor.

Pebbles rained down, smashing into smaller rocks and boulders. Connor and Nate made their way down to where she stood in a matter of seconds.

She spun around the small area with arms outstretched, unable to touch the walls. She stopped in front of the small tunnel that made up most of the lower level of the cave. A complaining Pete could be heard from within the fathomless pitch-black depths of the tunnel.

Light from the sun spilled in from the entrance behind her. Its dull morning glow lighting up a small portion of the area around her. The light filtering in was enough to help her see in front of her but not enough for her to pick out any main details that the cave might have had.

"Hey! Wait on me!" Melissa looked behind her and found Emily entering. On unsteady feet and with arms spread like the wings of a bird in flight, she hobbled down the rocky incline.

"You look like a baby fawn!" Melissa called to her friend while laughing.

"I feel like one!"

Emily made it to the edge, where boulder-sized rocks met smooth, even surface. On wobbly legs, she jumped, landing with a bow. "Thank you. Thank you." Melissa applauded and mimicked handing her a bouquet of roses.

"Come on you dorks. I can hear the others up ahead. I don't want to lose to Pete." Connor gestured for Melissa to take the lead. Hunching low, she entered into the dark. Nate then Emily followed in after her with Connor bringing up the rear.

Moving in a slow manner, Melissa carefully rubbed her hand up and down the smooth yet jagged surface of the wall. The cold, damp rock made her fingertips tingle with each stroke. The smell of rotten eggs increased with each step.

Agonizingly slow, she continued on in her search. Even though the speed at which she searched was agonizing, she enjoyed the feel of being surrounded by such a beautiful structure, even if she couldn't see it very clearly. She would be able to see the structure and detail of the cave better after they found the dome room and were allowed to use their flashlights.

Her hand grazed over the rock surface then hit thin air. Waving her hand back and forth, she found a small tunnel. She wiggled herself into the small space. Filling around with her hands, she pulled herself up and started climbing, hoping that it wasn't a dead end. The dark lightened a little and the tunnel widened. Widening until it opened up into a small but spacious cavern. Melissa pulled herself up and sat on the edge of the tunnel. "You can come up now," Melissa called down to the others.

She lifted herself up off the floor to make room for the others. Turning on her flashlight, she drifted its light across the cavern, taking in its unique beauty and character with awe. The floor was made up of large, broken slabs. Broken and crushed rocks were strewn across their surfaces. The uneven floor sloped downward, making it potentially hazardous for those who weren't paying attention.

Melissa turned toward the small tunnel that she had come out of to check everyone's progress. Nate stood bent over, helping to haul up Emily who was breathing rather hard. "That's one tight tunnel." She rubbed her hands up and down her arms once she was out of it.

"It is, but look at where it led." Melissa shone her flashlight over the area letting the two see the beauty that had been created during an asteroid impact collision.

"Wow!" Emily ran a hand over the smooth wall that was behind her. As Emily took in her surroundings in awe, Connor deftly pulled himself up and out of the small tunnel.

Melissa continued shining her light over the small cavern as she walked the short distance to the other side. Hidden behind a small, stubby stalagmite was another tunnel. One that was slightly larger than the one that they had come through.

"Agh!"

The shout drew her attention. Spinning around, almost tripping over a c***k in between the slabs, Melissa found Emily on the floor with her arms covering her face.

"Get it off of me!" Emily shrieked, her face devoid of color. Connor reached down and pulled a cave cricket out of her hair and tossed it away from them.

"You're alright. It's gone." He whispered in a calm, soothing voice.

Grunting and the sounds of pebbles hitting rock sounded from behind Melissa. She turned just in time to see Dr. Martin's head pop out of the second tunnel. "Is everything alright?" His breathing was heavy and rapid from climbing up the tunnel in a rush. "I heard screaming!"

Connor helped Emily up onto her feet. "Yeah. Just a small bug problem."

The professor sighed in relief. "Emily, if you were afraid of bugs, you should have told me. When we arrive at our next destination, you can stay outside. The next cave that we will be visiting is filled with cave crickets and other kinds of bugs." Emily nodded, some of the color returning to her.

Loud huffing could be heard from within the small tunnel. Melissa leaned over and saw a struggling Pete. She moved out of the way and waited for him to pull himself up with the help of Josh pushing from behind.

A'bene was the last one up the tunnel. He stood to his full height, stretching his long arms above his head.

Once everything calmed down and the students were counted, Dr. Martin ushered everyone to where the first tunnel was located. He gave a brief twenty-minute lesson on the history of the formation of the cave.

When the lesson was over, the professor gave them five minutes to explore the small cavern and the rest of the cave. Melissa asked if she, Connor and Emily could head back down to the creek bed instead of exploring. With the approval of their professor, the three of them exited out of the cave and ran down the hill to where the dried-up creek bed meandered through the valley.

They found crinoid and coral fossils along with geodes. Melissa pocketed some of the broken geodes that she found wanting to turn them into necklaces. Emily grabbed some crinoid fossils while Connor found an unbroken geode. He waved the round, palm-sized rock around, making Melissa really jealous. She was going to kill him if he lost or god forbid, broke the thing.

The rest of the group walked down the small, wet valley heading toward the vans. Their clothes were dusted in a fine layer of dirt and spider webs.

The second cave was a twenty-minute drive away. Melissa sat in the back seat with Emily where the two were carefully wrapping their prizes and placing them into their backpacks. The vans pulled over on the side of the road, parking in front of a guardrail.

To their right was a hill. The bedding of rock was visible and it was easy to make out the layers. On their left was an open field with a river running across it. A hillside was sitting directly behind the small valley.

Dr. Martin ushered everyone out of the vans and gathered them into a tight circle. "The cave that we are visiting now has to remain a secret, so no telling anyone where it's located. Your first mission will be trying to find the entrance. Once we are inside, we will only have about an hour to explore before we have to head back to the hotel. Emily, this cave is loaded with cave crickets so you'll remain behind."

"Then what am I supposed to do?" Emily whined.

"I don't know. Look for fossils or something?" He motioned for everyone to follow him. When they reached the river, he called Emily to him. "This place is supposed to remain a secret, so don't get caught by passing traffic."

"Ey, ey sir," saluted Emily.